Thursday, April 15, 2010

CORN, CORN...EVERYWHERE.

I started to watch the documentary Food Inc. yesterday. I have to say that I am shocked! I knew that the "meat" industry had shady aspects to their "business", but some of the processes they talked about were ghastly.One of the main ideas the documentarian discusses is the use of corn in the food industry. Corn or by-products of corn are in everything that we eat. Watching the documentary, I started to feel helpless. What if you want to eat better? What if you want to avoid corn, sugar, wheat etc.? The food industry makes it near impossible to do so. Within the informational section about corn, I was shocked to find out that farms raising fish are feeding them corn too! You aren't even safe with a "healthy" fish option. I personally find it disturbing. Because of our fast-paced, high demand society, farmers are cutting corners or choosing ridiculous options to keep up with the high demand. The sad thing is they essentially have no other option. They would lose their jobs or most of their income if they decided to change how they do things on the farm. Here is a list of some of the corn by-products: * Acetic acid * Alcohol * Alpha tocopherol * Artificial flavorings * Artificial sweeteners * Ascorbates * Ascorbic acid * Astaxanthin * Baking powder * Barley malt*can be contaminated * Bleached flour* * Blended sugar (sugaridextrose) * Brown sugar*no caramel color * Calcium citrate * Calcium fumarate * Gluconate * Gluconic acid * Glucono delta-lactone * Gluconolactone * Glucosamine * Glucose* * Glucose syrup* (also found in IV solutions) * Glutamate * Gluten * Gluten feed/meal * Glycerides * Glycerin* * Glycerol * Golden syrup * Grits * MSG * Natural flavorings* * Olestra/Olean * Polenta * Polydextrose * Polylactic acid (PLA) * Polysorbates* (e.g. Polysorbate 80) * Polyvinyl acetate * Potassium citrate * Potassium fumarateand these are just a few. How can this be fixed? How can we change America?

Check out how to pursue a corn free diet on: http://www.naturesbounty.com/vf/healthnotes/HN77/HN77_English/Diet/Corn_Free_Diet.htm#Diet-Avoid-Foods